Boost Relocation Success with Spouse & Child Visa Support

OECD data reveals that 678,900 migrants accompanied family members abroad in 2023. It’s a clear reminder for global companies that when you relocate workers, you relocate their spouses and children too.

Yet while employers invest resources into supporting workers, many leave dependents to figure out the visa process themselves. This makes the relocation process harder and more likely to fail. Because if employees can’t bring their families with them, they’re probably going to reject your job offer or relocation request.

Forward-thinking businesses account for dependents in employee relocations to ensure success and support their team’s well-being. Let’s explore what this looks like in practice and how Deel Immigration can assist you throughout the visa procurement process.

Who counts as a dependent?

Dependents are usually a visa holder’s spouse and underage children, but the exact definition varies across jurisdictions. For example, the age threshold for minors is 18 in some countries and 21 in many others.

Some countries allow elderly parents and other financially dependent relatives, too. However, this is less common and generally harder to approve.

Gray areas can make visa procurement challenging from the start. Partners are the most common issue. Many jurisdictions have strict requirements to ensure the relationship is legitimate, which may rule out long-term couples that haven’t cohabited long enough.

Travel and resettlement considerations for dependents

When an employee has dependents, it adds extra complexity to international assignments. Here’s what you have to bear in mind for relocation support to ensure everyone’s happy with the outcome:

• Separate visa applications: Dependents may need to file different forms. Without the right visa support, they may make mistakes and slow down the entire process
• Different processing times: Some visas may take longer than others, meaning dependents get their verdict later than the main applicant. This delay can cause some stress as families may worry they can’t travel together
• Higher cost: Adding dependents to a visa application usually means paying extra fees. It can significantly increase the overall cost of the employee relocation
• Ineligibility to work and study: Some visas prevent dependents from applying for jobs or attending courses in the new country. Others only allow it after you’ve filed extra forms
• Disruption to family life: Visa applications, interviews, and travel may conflict with other important family events. For example, children may miss school enrollment and have to start halfway through the year

7 steps to ensure successful relocations for employees and dependents

While adding dependents makes immigration more complicated, the right solution can minimize the risks while reducing stress. Here are the features and relocations services you can integrate into your global mobility strategy:

1. Maintain global visa coverage

In today’s globalized world, employees may have different nationalities from their spouses and sometimes even their children and parents. They may be subject to extra requirements based on their residency, citizenship, and place of birth.

Partnering with a global immigration solution like Deel ensures you’re prepared for more scenarios. Your business won’t be limited to key markets. For example, Deel Immigration covers over 50 countries, including the UAE, Spain, and Germany.

2. Reduce uncertainty with a visa eligibility checker

Evaluating an employee’s visa eligibility is already complex, but determining whether their dependents also qualify inevitably adds extra steps to the process. Countries often have different conditions depending on the category. For example, the US permits families to accompany H-1B and O-1 visa holders, but not B-1 and B-2.

Tools like Deel’s advanced visa eligibility checking tool simplify this step and allow enterprises to quickly evaluate the possibility of relocating their employees and dependents. This feature enables informed decision-making, reduces uncertainty, and enhances the relocation experience for employees and their families. All you need to do is answer a few simple questions about employees and their dependents, and you get a response indicating their visa eligibility in minutes.

However, if you have any case-specific queries about visa eligibility, you’re still free to contact Deel’s immigration specialists on-platform, who will offer expert guidance and assistance.

3. Gain transparency over visa application management and tracking

Compiling the paperwork becomes more challenging when you involve dependents. The requirements for dependent visas can be extensive, as you have to prove relationships between the various family members. For example, employees may have to submit:

• Birth certificates
• Marriage certificates
• Dependent passports
• Educational transcripts
• Employment verification letters
• Financial statements to prove resources

Deel Immigration can take care of everything to streamline the visa process. Our specialist team tells employees and their families what paperwork to submit and collects everything via a centralized dashboard. This minimizes any necessary back and forth that can slow down the process.

With Deel's visa tracker, companies and candidates can receive real-time updates on their immigration status. This allows you to monitor the timeline and react quickly if the authorities require any extra documents or revisions.

4. Streamline visa procurement with EOR visa sponsorship

If your company doesn’t have a legal entity in an employee’s home country and needs help with visa procurement, partnering with an employer of record (EOR) with visa sponsorship capabilities is an excellent option. It allows for a more hands-off approach, as the EOR takes care of all the hiring admin on your behalf, including global payroll and compliance.

Additionally, with EOR sponsorship, you receive support for both the employees and their dependents throughout the visa procurement process.

For example, Deel’s EOR visa sponsorship services provide a simple and accelerated solution to visa sponsorship. Businesses can hire and relocate employees and their dependents to various countries without opening a local entity for a streamlined and hands-off visa procurement process.

Alternatively, you can outsource the visa and hiring process to sponsorship organizations. However, if you don’t have a legal entity in the destination country, they won’t be able to help. Their services are also limited; they do not provide visa application status tracking or renewal reminders, and the travel and health insurance coverage is often very basic.

See also: Streamline international hiring with EOR visa sponsorship

5. Prevent delays with self-serve document upload and employment verification

Using a centralized platform like Deel with self-service features streamlines document management. Visa holders don’t risk delays or lost documentation while scanning, emailing, or mailing copies of their documents to you. This also makes it easier to keep track of all the extra paperwork involved with family relocations.

Here’s how it works: The Deel platform prompts workers and their dependents to upload the documents securely to the platform as soon as they receive them from the authorities. Our expert team then meticulously verifies the legality of the visa and employment authorizations, ensuring that they are sound and compliant with regulations. These documents are safely kept on file and can be accessed anytime in the future for any necessary inspections or audits.

6. Simplify visa renewals and extensions with reminders and automation

Acquiring a visa is just the first step in the process. Immigration solutions like Deel also support you with visa renewals, extensions, and visa status updates to ensure your employee and their family have continued legal status in the host country.

The Deel platform simplifies the visa renewal process with the following features:

• Reminders and alerts about upcoming renewal or extension deadlines
• Automated application submissions
• Integration of visa updates and renewals with other HR processes, such as onboarding, payroll, and benefits enrollment
• Quality guidance from Deel’s team of visa and immigration experts

This support helps your business stay ahead of immigration policies, evolving documentation requirements, and potential complications that may arise during the process.

7. Remain compliant with visa cancellation support

Immigration solutions like Deel also cover cancellations, for example, when a dependent leaves the country or no longer meets the eligibility requirements. Our team handles this promptly and compliantly as soon as the employee or their family member notifies you.

This prevents compliance issues that can arise from unauthorised stays, such as:

• Legal action and lawsuits
• A negative immigration record
• Reputational damage
• Fines or penalties for non-compliance
• Security concerns brought on by unmonitored individuals

See also: A demo of Deel’s Global Mobility platform

Simplify and support dependent visa procurement with Deel

Global mobility brings benefits to both companies and employees. Your business can enter new markets and access foreign talent pools quickly, while your team can take advantage of career opportunities wherever they may be.

However, visa procurement often poses an obstacle. Complex requirements and processes often stretch out the process and lead to costly errors.

Deel immigration alleviates this burden through its comprehensive features and services. With our team by your side, your company can:

• Set up a local entity and obtain a sponsorship license
• Get sponsored visas through Deel EOR
• Check employee and dependent eligibility
• Compile paperwork and file forms
• Stay updated about approvals, deadlines, and renewals
• Get advice from local, on-the-ground immigration experts

Sound like the ideal solution? Book 30 minutes with the Deel Immigration team to get your questions answered.